Elizabethan Theatres

1. Elizabethan Theatres • Theatres did not have • Scenery • Curtains • Special lighting • Women actors • Theatres were built around roofless octagonal courtyards • The 1st theatre was built in 1576 and called The Theatre

2. Elizabethan Theatres • When the flag on the bell tower of the theatre was flying that let people know a play was to be performed • Plays lasted 2-2 ½ hours without any stops!

3. The Globe Theatre • 1598-The Globe was built. Most of Shakespeare’s plays were performed here since he was one of he owners. The acting company for The Globe was known as The Kings Men • 1613-The Globe was destroyed by fire. The Globe (as well as most theatres) could hold from 2-3,000 people for a play

4. The Globe Theatre Continued • A WHITE FLAG, flying above the theatre meant a performance was being held • “Groundlings”, or “penny pinchers”- name given to those who stood because they stood on the ground and their admission price was one penny • For a penny more one could sit in the gallery on large, backed chairs called “degrees”

5. The Globe Continued • There was little, if any scenery, but the costumes used were authentic and beautiful • Black Plague closed the theatre for several months • The Globe burned down in 1613 when wadding from a canon shot during a performance of Henry VIII, lodged in the thatched roof. All escaped through two small doors

6. William Shakespeare • He is nicknamed The Bard. Bard is a name given to a nationally exalted poet • Born on April 23, 1564 at Stratford-on-Avon in England and died on April 23, 1616 at the age of 52. • Parents were John Shakespeare who was a glover (tanner) and mayor of Stratford- his mother was Mary Arden. She came from a wealthy landowning family.

7. William Shakespeare Continued • November 28-December 1, 1532 Shakespeare married Anne Hathaway. He was 18, she was 26 • Anne and William had 3 children: Suzanna, Hamnet, and Judith (Hamnet and Judith were twins) • Hamnet died at age 11, putting an end to the Shakespeare name

8. William Shakespeare Continued • Somewhere between 1585 and 1592, Shakespeare left Stratford for London • In London, he began working as an actor. He was with a theatre company called Lord Chamberlain’s Men. • In 1593, the theatres closed because of the Black Plague. The actors had to begin traveling to the countryside. This is when he began to write.

9. William Shakespeare Continued • His big break as a playwright came when the acting group performed Twelfth Night for Queen Elizabeth I • This then made him a prominent playwright and actor • In 1590, Shakespeare began writing but under another name • In 1594, he put his name to his first play, Romeo and Juliet

10. Shakespeare’s Works • Shakespeare wrote 3 types of plays • Romantic Comedies (17) • Histories (6) • Tragedies (10)

11. Shakespeare’s England • Plague • Overcrowded conditions and many slum areas • Bubonic plague broke out frequently (black boils, spitting of blood, death within three days, caught from fleas and rats) • Occurs in overcrowded areas where there is filth and waste • Sanitation • Filthy city, houses stacked on top of one another • No sewers or drains except for a gutter in the middle of the street where garbage pails were emptied

13. Queen Elizabeth 1558-1603 • The extreme importance of this woman was that everyone loved her for her achievements • Elizabeth was under suspicion of conspiring with other Protestants to dethrone Queen Mary

14. Queen Elizabeth Continued • Elizabethan I was Queen of England and Wales four hundred years ago. She was on the throne for 45 years, and was such an impressive person that we refer to her reign as the “Elizabethan Age” • Queen Elizabeth affected the life of William Shakespeare by having actors and writers do plays about what was happening in the government.